The secret to long life? Singing!

May10

The women of Na Leo Lani thrive well into our late years. Have a look at the photos below and you’ll see: our amazing Ruth turned 93 earlier this year, Vera turned 91 in April, Anna celebrated another excellent year of her 70s, and that’s just a few of our senior members!

What’s our secret? It’s simple: singing is like meditation, but way more fun. We practice breath support, we listen closely to each other, learn new music and master complex harmonies every week, and most of all, we enjoy our sisterhood of song at rehearsal every week — plus we perform for the public whenever we get a chance.

Hail to our March, April, and May birthday gals! (See pics below.) And keep those cycles ‘round the sun coming — singing with you is such a joy.

In addition to being a bass extraordinaire, Ruth recently won an acting trophy from her retirement community. Bravo, Ruthie!

April birthday gals Coralyn and Vera ham it up (and happy birthday also to Anna in absentia!)

Special guests are the best!

May10

We had three special guests join us at our rehearsals in April: former Na Leo Lani director Lars Isaacson, who will be bidding adieu to the islands and moving to the continent later this spring, Barbie Dodson, a sister Sweet Adeline and former Honolulu Blend Show Chorus member who often visits Hawaiʻi, and Mark Conching, whose guest-coaching, as always, made our chords really ring.

Both Lars and Mark are longtime Sounds of Aloha members (Mark is the former director). What a wonderful treat it was to have them, and Barbie, too, who came just in time for our special rehearsal evening in honor of National Barbershop Quartet Day on April 11. Thanks for joining us!

Enjoy the photos of their visits below, plus a video of Lars directing us in one of his favorites, “Where Does the Time Go?” (😭)

Where indeed?

Thanks, Mark, for inspiring us as always!

Nicole, Yvonne, Barbie, Lars, Jojo and Kaori ensembling on the fly in honor of National Barbershop Quartet Day

The recently reconstituted Loco Moco looking good and sounding great!

St. Patty’s Day & more!

Mar26

Like four-leaf clovers, barbershop harmony has four parts. In that spirit, Na Leo Lani celebrated St. Patrick’s Day last week with heaps of Irish-inflected harmony and a side helping of greens.

Adding to the festive atmosphere, we welcomed a new member, Kaori, to the baritones! She is a highly appreciated addition to this most complex and tricky of barbershop parts.

Celebrating muʻumuʻu month

Jan26

It’s muʻumuʻu month here in Hawaiʻi nei, so we sang and celebrated in full dress finery, joined by special guests in the bari section! Enjoy these pics and video clip of our rainbow-hued rendition of Danny Couch’s beautiful lullaby, “These Islands.”

This is Aloha 🌈

Puttin’ on our top hats . . .

Jan20

. . . and polishin’ our nails!

National Hat Day brought out the tops in all of us at rehearsal this week, as we welcomed in the New Year with song, swagger, and a whole range of light-hearted headwear.

If you’re looking for a great group to help lift your mood every week, look no further than the lovely ladies of Na Leo Lani! We have an upcoming Guest Night on Wednesday, January 29 — see HERE for details. We look forward to singing with you.

New Year, New Faces!

Jan13

We were thrilled to be joined at last week’s rehearsal by Sounds of Aloha bass Iska R., accompanied by lovely vocalist Kaori.

Na Leo Lani always welcomes visitors, potential members, and singers passing through town to come check us out at our weekly rehearsals. See our Calendar of Events and Join Us! pages for info on our rehearsal schedule and how to find us. We have a guest night coming up on January 29 — that’s a great opportunity to see what we’re about — but guests are also welcome any time. Whether you have never sung before outside of your car, are a singer curious about a cappella barbershop harmony, a returning member, or a Sweet Adeline simply passing through town, we look forward to singing with you!

Making merry & bright

Dec8

We all know the holiday season can be hard work, but there’s no reason it can’t be fun at the same time! As these snapshots and video clip from our recent rehearsal show, the women of Na Leo Lani are serious about music, but we always make time for laughter as well.

Our concentration is on display in this Yuletide favorite

No island style celebration is complete without ʻukulele

Birthdays, best days

Nov16

Birthdays are always a blast with Na Leo Lani. We celebrate monthly with a sash, harmonious wishes, and an opportunity to ham it up in birthday glory.

Enjoy a glimpse below of our fall birthday gals enjoying their moment, plus a pic from our weekly sisterhood of song.

Libras and Scorpios rule!

Rosies are red, birthdays are da best!

Nothing so sweet as the joy of friendship:)

Pump(kin) up the volume!

Nov2

Every NLL rehearsal is an opportunity for fun, but Halloween in particular is a time for good-spirited silliness, with unusual assemblages of vocal parts facing off in a Krazy Kwartet competition.

This year’s Kraziness featured a trio of spooky witches, an all-tenor ensemble hitting those scary high notes, and a quintet of bold basses. Not to be outdone, the leads and baris formed a motley flock of black sheep — so baaaad, they’re good!

Not baaaad, ladies!

Basses band together

Tuning up for Christmas in Halloween style

New voices, new friends

Nov2

What a whirlwind few weeks it’s been — more than a month has passed already of our Sing With Us for the Holidays (SWUFTH 😉) program! It’s been a joy getting to know our SWUFTH participants and blending with them in marvelous holiday harmony.

Enjoy some snapshots of Weeks 1-4 below, plus a snippet of an impromptu ensemble warming up the chorus with an old favorite.